So there's this dude who secretly worked for multiple tech companies at the same time.

I know what you're thinking: "That's fraud." And yeah, you're right. But before we throw him under the bus, let's talk about what he did right during interviews and cold outreach—because holy shit, this guy was good at getting hired.

Meet Soham Parekh: the engineer who worked 140+ hours a week across multiple startups, got caught, and somehow still had founders reaching out to support him after they fired him.

I studied and found out his interview game is a masterclass to have on.

If you've ever wondered how some people seem to effortlessly land startup offers while you're getting ghosted by companies you've never heard of, buckle up. We're about to dissect the playbook of someone who was very good at convincing founders to hire him.

(And no, we're not suggesting you work multiple jobs. Because it’s still debatable.)

The Plot Twist: Why Founders Still Liked Him

Here's the wild part: multiple founders who fired Soham for the multi-company thing still reached out during his public crisis to offer support.

Why? Because apparently, his work was that good.

This tells us something important about what really matters in interviews and early career: genuine competence + authentic care for the company = lasting professional relationships.

Even when someone makes a massive ethical mistake, exceptional work quality creates lasting value.

I Studied His Interview Strategy

1. He Did His Homework (Like, Obsessively)

What most CS students do: Apply with generic cover letters and hope for the best.

What Soham did: Deep-dived into each company's business model, competitors, customer base, and technical challenges. He'd propose specific features and improvements in his cold emails.

The lesson: Don't just apply to companies—research them like you're writing an investment thesis.

2. Cold Emails That Got Responses

His cold emails had three ingredients that made founders actually reply:

• Authentic personality (not corporate speak)

• Genuine care about the company's mission

• Clear technical competence with specific ideas

Instead of: "I'm interested in your software engineer position..."
He wrote: "I've been following your approach to [specific problem]. I had some thoughts about how you could optimize [specific feature] based on my experience with [relevant tech]..."

3. Business Thinking, Not Just Code Thinking

Most engineers interview like code monkeys. Soham interviewed like a co-founder.

He'd think about:

• How features impact customer retention

• What the competitive landscape looks like

• Where the company should invest technical resources

• How to balance technical debt with shipping speed

The insight: Engineers who understand business get hired faster and promoted quicker.

The Technical Excellence Framework

Full-Stack Generalist > Deep Specialist (For Startups)

Soham positioned himself as someone who could "do everything":

• Frontend and backend

• Infrastructure and DevOps

• AI research and GPU optimization

• Product thinking and business strategy

Why this worked: Early-stage startups need versatile engineers who can adapt to changing needs, not specialists who only know one domain.

Continuous Learning as Daily Practice

He treated every day like he was "a student" and regularly read research papers. This kept his interview answers fresh and demonstrated genuine curiosity.

The habit: Set aside 30 minutes daily to read about emerging tech, not just for interviews, but to stay curious.

Strategic AI Tool Usage

Plot twist: He didn't rely heavily on AI coding tools. He used them selectively and understood their limitations.

His insight: "Reviewing AI-generated code often takes more effort than writing from scratch for complex problems."

The lesson: Learn to collaborate with AI tools, don't become dependent on them.

🚨 The Red Flags We Should Actually Copy

1. Target Companies Using Practical Assessments

Soham admits he would have "bombed" traditional LeetCode interviews. Instead, he focused on companies using:

• Take-home assessments

• Work trials

• Practical coding challenges

• Portfolio reviews

Your move: Research company interview processes and target ones that evaluate skills you're actually strong at.

2. The "Passion First" Company Selection

He didn't apply randomly. He chose companies where he could contribute strategic thinking beyond just engineering.

The framework:

• Companies tackling problems you genuinely care about

• Business models you can understand and improve

• Technical challenges that excite you

• Teams where your specific skills create disproportionate value

3. Value Creation Beyond Your Job Description

During interviews, Soham consistently provided insights beyond technical implementation—suggesting features, analyzing market opportunities, thinking about company direction.

The mindset shift: Don't interview for a job. Interview to become a valuable partner in building something meaningful.

💡 The Crisis Management Masterclass

When everything blew up, Soham did something most people don't: he faced it head-on.

• Immediate transparency (no deflection or excuses)

• Public accountability (appeared on livestreams within 24 hours)

• Honest admission of wrongdoing

• Commitment to change with external accountability

The lesson: If you mess up professionally, own it completely. Transparency and accountability can salvage relationships that lies would destroy permanently.

🎯 What CS Students Should Actually Do

Interview Preparation That Works:

1. Research like an investor: Understand the business, not just the tech stack

2. Propose solutions: Come with ideas, not just enthusiasm

3. Think like a co-founder: Consider business impact, not just technical implementation

4. Choose your battlefield: Target companies that evaluate skills you're strong at

Technical Development Strategy:

1. Build full-stack capabilities (especially valuable for startups)

2. Contribute to open source (creates credible portfolio)

3. Stay current through research papers (demonstrates continuous learning)

4. Solve real problems (not just tutorial projects)

Professional Relationship Building:

1. Do exceptional work (creates lasting professional connections)

2. Be transparent about constraints (visa status, availability, financial needs)

3. Build authentic relationships through work quality, not networking events

4. Face mistakes directly with immediate accountability

That’s it for this week.

The takeaway isn't to work multiple jobs (please don't). It's to bring the same level of preparation, genuine interest, and strategic thinking that made Soham's interviews so successful—just without the ethical disasters.

Team Jobless

P.S.

Want to practice interview scenarios where you can demonstrate business thinking? We have added new resources in our referral kit to prepare for both technical and strategic questions. Because getting hired isn't just about coding—it's about showing you can think like a founder.